Ben Wittick (1845-1903) - Mojave Woman

16.25" x 12" framed, 7.5" x 4.5" unframed. George Benjamin Wittick was a pioneer photographer of the American Southwest. This image, along with others in its collection, was a part of his "Views in New Mexico, Arizona, and Old Mexico" and represented life of Pueblo people in the late 19th century. Wittick was born in Pennsylvania, later moving to Illinois, and then out west in 1878 to pursue frontier photography. He first worked for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroads, but later established his first photography studio in Gallup, New Mexico. During his career, he photographed many subjects to include the railroad; southwestern landscapes such as Canyon de Chelly, the Navajo Reservation, Pueblo scenes and the Native peoples, mostly the Apache, Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni. He also painted scenes of the American expansion westward as well. He carried with him a collection of props for his photographs to include rifles, pistols, blankets, pottery, and more. Most of his photographs were taken outside using the natural sunlight against backdrops. His best known photographs were of Geronimo and Billy the Kid. In 1900, he established his last studio at Fort Wingate. He later died in 1903 of a rattlesnake bite at Fort Wingate, which was foretold by a Hopi priest. All packing and shipping is done in-house by Medicine Man Gallery.